Broken Remedy |L. Odinson|

Prologue

"Keep your posture straight at all times, don't make eye contact unless the King or one of the Princes speaks to you directly, make sure to not get too excited because you just end up rambling and it is not proper for a person of our status to ramble, be polite - Eir, are you listening?"

The girl looked up at her mother's tone, meeting her eyes through the mirror before she gave her a small nod.

"I am paying attention."

"Good. Where was I? It is important for our reputation to-"

She was not really listening.

The little girl's thoughts were running elsewhere, to sunny mornings spent outside with her on the back of her horse, the wind blowing her hair behind her back, tangling it in knots that was almost impossible for her mother to untangle later on when she came back.

Her mind was wandering to the library of their home where she could spend hours at, to afternoons that neither of her brothers would come to check up on her. She was thinking of afternoons when she had time to herself and a chance to sit alone in silence, with the books around her keeping her company.

Her imagination was conjuring images of starry, warm nights she used to watch from her balcony when she barely wore anything. The night was not shaming her to cover up, it was not pushing her to act a certain way.

But at the palace, she would have to act the way her parents wanted her to. She was expected to act like a lady, even if she was just a child, and the girl did not find herself protesting. It was true that she did not like it, having to hide who she was as if it was some sort of a crime, but even if she was not going to be herself, she still wanted to go.

Eir had never met the two princes of Asgard, as this was the first time she would be going to the palace, despite the fact that the Queen and her mother were close friends and her father was a soldier the King sometimes trusted with important matters. She had not gotten excited because she would meet two princes, but because, after her visit, there was a slim chance she would get out of this ordeal with two new friends.

And for Eir, making new friends was quite important.

Some things came naturally to the girl, but there were some other situations she found herself being clueless. Making friends, was something she had no idea how to do.

It wasn't like she wasn't polite or something like that - if anything, she was quite helpful and loyal to those she thought were her friends. It seemed, though, that for some peculiar reason, nobody really wanted to be her friend.

With her and her family going to the palace, there was a chance of her forming some form of friendship with the two boys that were slightly older than her. The thought alone excited her so much she was moving all the time, and her mother that had been trying to do something with her hair, was starting to get impatient.

"Eir!" she snapped at some point, leaving the girl to stop and look up at her with wide eyes, clearly bewildered. "Would you stop moving? How am I going to manage to do anything with your hair if you keep moving around?"

The girl hung her head. "I apologise, mother."

"Chin up," her mother, Ingrid, rolled her eyes, "You are not helping me with your head down."

And so the girl raised her chin as she had been told to do and remained completely still as she allowed her mother to do whatever she wished with her hair. When she was finished, Ingrid took a step back to admire her work and then let a satisfied smile form on her lips.

"You are ready," she announced, "We are leaving in some minutes. I'll be expecting you in the main hall."

The girl waited until her mother was away, before she looked at herself in the mirror. Wordlessly, she smoothed down some of the creases of her white dress before she looked up, her gaze instantly getting drawn in the blue pool of her eyes before she looked away. She took to examining what her mother had done with her hair instead. Her dark wavy hair that barely reached her waist was half up and half down in a braid of sorts that she could not quite see.